Memories and Marriage Vows
by emeraldeyedirishdaughter
Summary: John Smith and Rose Tyler are getting married on the morrow, but one part human part Time Lord cannot find the words to write his marriage vows.  Enter Jackie Tyler to the rescue. Thus a trip down memory lane ensues. References to Ninth and Tenth Doctors


**_Author Notes: Not quite sure how many chapters this will be. Probably around two or three. Written as a belated birthday gift for my wonderful Lizbeth (naughtybunny23) and who has kindly beta'd it as well. Thanks lovely lady. This is the first time I have written Ten2 and Jackie Tyler in more depth so I sincerely hope they come across well in character. This is also written on the assumption that Rose didn't tell Jackie a lot about their adventures. Disclaimer: Doctor Who and its characters are owned by the BBC and sadly not by me._**

_This cannot be happening!_

John Smith, half human, half Time Lord sat on his bed, a frown gracing his handsome face.

_It's inconceivable, _he thought. _I'm the Doctor and talking is what I do best. How the hell can I be lost for words? _

He raised his head to look at the piece of paper that lay on the bed beside him. He was an honoured professor with several letters after his name. He had written perfect reports and schematics for Torchwood. How on earth could this small silly task confound him?

That of course had been his mistake. This task was neither small nor silly. These were probably the most important words he would ever give life to.

_Inconceivable! _

He blanched as the word crossed his mind once more and he made a mental note never to watch "The Princess Bride" again.

Just as quickly he dismissed the thought before picking up the piece of paper and read once more the words he had penned so far.

_Rose Marion Tyler. My beautiful, precious accepting Rose. It feels like I've waited centuries for this moment. There are not enough words in the world to say how I feel. I feel like an explorer who's just discovered and conquered an unknown land. Or perhaps …_

With an audible growl he scrunched up the paper and threw it towards the direction of the waste basket that already overflowed with similar pieces of white parchment. Throwing himself back on the bed he wondered what he should do.

Tomorrow, finally, after a long hard road he and Rose would become husband and wife. How could he condense the overwhelming intensity of his feelings for Rose into several meaningful words that would make up his marriage vows?

He thought of calling Rose but then baulked at the idea. She might take it the wrong way if he asked her for help.

_No, I can do this. I'm the Doctor. I can do six impossible things before breakfast and … hang on is that the doorbell?_

A melodic chime from the hallway confirmed that he was not hearing things. As he made his way to the door and opened it, he wondered who could be calling round to see him at this early hour of the morning.

"Helloooo-"

"Geez, you took your time," grumbled a very discontented Jackie Tyler as she marched straight past him before he could complete his greeting. "Didn't think you'd be sleeping though why you've got every bleeding light on is beyond me. This flat's brighter then a good summer's day. Now-" she said as she focused her full attention on him, "-what's the matter?"

"What?" he replied rather dumbly. "I mean what do you mean what's the matter? Perhaps I should be asking you why you're here at this early hour?"

"Well, I'm certainly not here because I fancied being on a street corner at two am in the morning waiting for my daughter's fiancé to open up his door. Thought with all those Time Lord traits you inherited you had extra good hearing. I mean with the ears you used to have you wouldn't have missed the bell, I bet."

"Hey," he injected. "Nothing wrong with my ears. I was just thinking hard about some stuff that's all. Got a bit distracted. Anyway, you still haven't answered my question. Why are you here?"

Jackie's voice softened as she answered him.

"Rose sent me. She…"

John suddenly grabbed her arms none too gently in panic.

"Jackie, she's alright isn't she? She's not ill or changing her mind about the wedding?"

"Snap out of it, you idiot," fumed Jackie. "Rose is fine. She was worried about you actually. For some reason she seemed to think you were unhappy about something. I don't know how she knows but she was all fired up to come over here to see if things were okay."

"Oh," he gasped in surprise. "Why didn't she?"

Jackie laughed. "You're joking aren't you? You and Rose can't stay out of trouble for two days. You really think I'd let her see you the night before the wedding. No thanks. That's one tradition that will not be broken. You two don't need to tempt Lady Luck any more then you already do."

John could not help but smile in return. "Yeah, you're right, Jackie. I want tomorrow to be perfect as well." His smile disappeared however as he thought once more about the unwritten vows.

His future mother-in-law was quick to notice the change in his countenance.

"There **is** something wrong isn't there?"

Slowly John nodded his head, dejection written all over his face.

Jackie patted his arm affectionately.

"Well then, good job I'm here. Don't just stand there," she ordered. "Let's go to the kitchen and have a cuppa. We'll get whatever is bothering you all worked out."

John immediately began to feel better. "Tea, of course, just the thing to get the synapses working. How could I forget? Jackie, you're a genius," he praised before leaning down to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

Jackie squeaked in surprise and pushed him away but secretly she was delighted.

"Get away with you, you daft sod, and get the kettle on."

With a cheeky smile and heart feeling somewhat lighter, John walked to the kitchen, Jackie trailing after him.

No more words were said until both were seated at the kitchen table, a steaming hot beverage in front of them.

"Okay, now spill, John," she encouraged. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, Jackie. You know I love Rose, right?

"After everything you two have been through – how could I not?"

"Yeah, that's true," he admitted before continuing nervously. "How do I tell her?"

Jackie looked at him, confusion evident on her face. "How do you mean tell her? What? That you love her. Hang on a tic," she bellowed. "You're marrying my daughter tomorrow and you haven't told her you love her?"

"WHAT?" he hissed. "No, no, no. Blimey, Jackie, why would you ever come to that conclusion? 'Course I've told Rose I love her."

"Well you were the one to ask me about how to tell her Mr 'I'm So Clever Pants' and besides come to think of it I've never heard you say it."

"That's because I'm not comfortable voicing my emotions in public."

"So, what did you mean then?

John cursed in exasperation. "My vows, Jackie. I was talking about writing my marriage vows. I can't seem to find the right words to express the enormity and intensity of what I feel. My heart feels like it will burst with emotion. How can I condense that into mere words?"

Jackie watched him during his brief outburst, her heart filling with joy as she truly realised just how far this man had come. Maternal instincts coming to the fore she took his hand in a compassionate grip.

"Seems to me sweetheart, that you've already started to find the right words but drink your tea up and we'll figure it out. Talk to me, tell me about when you first met Rose."

"You sure about that Jackie Tyler? You didn't like me very much back then."

Jackie gave in to the urge to grin at him. "Yes, well you did redeem yourself at the end but forget all that. Rose never told me much about how she met you, so let's hear it from your side of the story."

With a long sigh he sat back in his chair and began the tale.

"You remember the mannequins, Jackie? 'Autons' they were called. Living plastic beings controlled by a creature called the Nestene Consciousness. I was tracking them. Found out that there was a signal up on top of the Henricks building so decided to go blow it up-"

"Hang on, you mean you blew up Henricks?"

John could not resist a smug little smile. "Yep. But," he added, "I found Rose down in the basement first. She was trapped in there with Autons on every side of her but I saved her. Took her hand and said 'Run' and we did. She was right smart too, no stupid gabbling or screaming, just asked intelligent questions. Was one of the things that made me like her straight away."

He paused for a moment to sip his tea. "Stupid me though. All I wanted to do was get rid of the threat and go back to being alone. Rose told you about the Time War yeah?"

Jackie nodded knowingly.

"I'd just lost my people, my world, my home, Jackie. I just wanted to curl up and die but the TARDIS, she made me get up and go out. She found the Nestene threat to earth and knew I wouldn't be able to stand by and just watch. She's an ancient being so perhaps she knew I'd find Rose. She certainly loved her as much as I do."

"You miss her still," murmured Jackie softly.

He did not bother to lie. "Always will. She was a part of him," knowing that Jackie knew who he was talking about, "therefore she'll always be part of me too but, well that's all I have to say on that matter. Besides we were talking about when I first met Rose."

"She never told me that you had met in the basement, you know?"

"Probably just as well since I blew up her job and you didn't need another reason to dislike me more than you already did," he laughed. Just as suddenly his grin faded. "I never thought I'd actually see Rose again but then Mickey, God love him, got himself replaced by a plastic doppelganger." A distant look crept into his eyes as he continued to recount the story.

"Oh, Jackie, you should have seen Rose when she first came on board the TARDIS. She was a little freaked at first and I did my damnedest to make her feel unwelcome but she wouldn't be deterred. Stood up to me like no one has done for years, telling me off and such a temper which incidentally-" he said looking at her cheekily –"I think she inherited from you."

His brassy comment earned him a smack on the arm but after a brief grimace he began talking again. "She saved me in the end. I'll always be thankful you sent her to gymnastics when she was young. I didn't understand the impulses but I knew then that I wanted her to come with me." His voice softened. "She told me 'no' at first and at the time I couldn't understand why I felt so disappointed so I left but everything in me told me to go back; to go and ask her again. So I did and she said 'yes.' In that very moment I felt more joy than I can remember even before the loss of my planet and people."

"I took her to the end of the world after she decided to come with me. Her 'designated driver,' is what she called me but I think it was exactly the opposite or perhaps it was a bit of both. I was taking her on a tour of the universe and she was guiding me back to life."

"Well, she was certainly infatuated with you by the time those horrible green monsters turned up."

"Ah, yes, the Slitheen," he said thoughtfully. "That was an epiphany for me. Not the Slitheen, of course, but how I felt about Rose."

"Perhaps I hit you a bit too hard and knocked out a few of your Time Lordy brain cells," teased Jackie.

Instead of the laugh that Jackie expected, John frowned slightly at the jest.

"In nine hundred years I'd never been slapped by someone's mother. I didn't appreciate it at the time, Jackie but you had every right to do what you did. I know what it's like to live without Rose and I'm sorry I ever put you through that," he finished sorrowfully.

Jackie's patient touch on his arm was enough of a gesture to let him know she had long forgiven him for taking her daughter away.

"Come on, tell me more sweetheart," she coaxed. "Tell me about this epiphany of yours."

"I think I have to go back a little further then Downing Street," he admitted. "Did Rose tell you about meeting Charles Dickens?"

"Yes, she did. Said you landed in Cardiff instead of Naples. Like there's a surprise," she sniffed. When John just rolled his eyes at her she continued. "Though," she said, "in this universe he did manage to write some story about a guy and some blue elementals. Never could read that stuff myself. Too longwinded but Rose seemed to like it."

"Ol Charlie boy was a grand fellow but once again we ran into trouble and this time it was my entire fault. I got tricked by a race of beings who said they'd been almost wiped out because of the Time War. They preyed on my fears and guilt. Rose tried to stop me but I was arrogant and would have my way." He sighed as the loss of Gwyneth and the death of Mr Sneed came back to him. "Innocent lives were lost that day but Rose, she didn't blame me. Not even when we had our backs to the walls. She put her hand in mine, Jackie. Told me we'd go down fighting, together, and I knew then how glad I was that I had met your daughter."

"Just glad," prompted Jackie.

"Weeell, more than glad but it wasn't until the standoff in Downing Street that I finally realised that I couldn't lose Rose. Hers was the hand I held, the air I breathed and God help me this sounds so clichéd but she became my reason for living. I couldn't put the name of love to it yet. I was still too much of a coward. I've had companions before but for the first time I had to stop and think hard about my choices. Save Rose or save the world."

"And you were the man who had to make those decisions because no one else would," murmured Jackie softly. "I have to admit Doctor-" using his title for the first time since she'd arrived, "-that declaration started to sway my opinion of you, well that and the fact that you saved my life."

"Yeah, chalk up another use for vinegar in the home remedies journals hey?"

John got up from his chair before stretching his arms into the air. "Been sitting too long," he said with a small smile. Picking up his now lukewarm tea he downed it quickly before taking the empty cup over to the sink. When he returned he did not sit back down again but leaned his rangy body up against the side of the refrigerator. Jackie looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to recommence their conversation. She gasped as she met his gaze. The sorrow within his eyes was enough to make her want to cry, despite not knowing the reason for it.


End file.
